Simply put, Alvin Gentry didn't win enough games with the Los Angeles Clippers. That's always a sure-fire way for a coach to get fired. Gentry was in a tough spot. He never had his team together. I don't think he's had his full roster together yet. He had injuries going into training camp, so he had hardly any practice sessions with a full team -- and training camp is where you establish your team game for the season.

	Alvin Gentry found out just how tough it is to win with the Clippers.

Gentry also had some players who weren't happy to be with the Clippers. Michael Olowokandi told them last year that he wanted to be traded and that he wasn't coming back after the season.

When you go down the roster, they've got a lot of young talent, but it doesn't mix together well. And it's the coach's responsibility to pull it all together and win. The Clippers have several players who basically play the same position: Keyon Dooling is a point guard and shooting guard, Marko Jaric is a shooting guard and small forward, Corey Maggette is another two/three, Eric Piatkowski and Quentin Richardson are both shooting guards, and Lamar Odom is a small forward (maybe a power forward).

The Clippers had great expectations for Andre Miller, but he didn't deliver. Elton Brand is the only player getting the job done, but that wasn't enough to save Gentry.

It seems that no one wants to be a Clipper. The team made some strides last year, but they set their sights too high this season, then the injuries at the start of the season hurt them. The Clippers are a tough team for anyone to coach.

If you took any of the top coaches in the league, I don't know if they could win with the Clippers -- even the coach of that other L.A. team, Phil Jackson. Just look at Miami with Pat Riley, the Lakers' coach during the heyday of Showtime in the '80s. He's having a tough time because the Heat doesn't have enough talent. No matter how good a coach you are, you've got to have talent to win in the NBA.

Sometimes when a new coach comes in, we see a run at success. But in the end, I doubt Dennis Johnson will do any better than Gentry. The Clippers are too tough a team to coach. But when a team doesn't win, it's always the coach that goes.

Dr. Jack Ramsay, a Hall of Fame coach who won an NBA title with Portland in 1977, is an NBA analyst for ESPN.